But things are fast changing in Bihar, the birthplace of the kulhar. “We pay Rs 2,000 per tractor of clay and it comes from Naubatpur. The cost of manufacturing one kulhar is 60 paise now. We now charge around Rs 50 for 100 kulhars,” he said.

Seeing that making kulhars makes poor business sense now, Maner-based Devendra Prasad Prajapati (45), whose ancestors were in the pottery business, has opted to become a mechanic. 

“Pottery requires money, effort, art and hard work. Charcoal, clay, sand and cow-dung cake — the four basic elements required for making kulhars — are getting costlier by the day. I saw my father spending hours on potter’s wheels and getting nothing. I wanted a secure future. Even my uncle, a potter, is struggling. He finds 
employment from mid-August till November, after which he works at a kiln. I didn’t want a miserable life like his,” Devendra said.

Kishun supported Lalu Prasad when he decided as Union railway minister in 2004 to make use of kulhar compulsory for the sale of tea and other beverages at railway stations and aboard trains, so as to revive the trade. 
Kishun said: “He was the only leader who encouraged potters to pass on this art to the next generation. However, things changed after 2004. Now people love fancy things. You give them raw kulhar, they will refuse to drink tea in it. But if you paint it and give it a design, they will find it creative.”

Vishal Sahay, a 31-year-old entrepreneur who runs Kulhar Chai, a joint on Shri Krishna Puri Road where chai is served in kulhars, has helped take kulhars to the youth and revive it. 

“Chai is the most saleable item. But I wanted kulhars to reach the youth. At most tea joints now you get tea in disposable cups. My plan was to revive tea made in charcoal and the kulhar. I loved Laluji’s idea of 
serving tea in kulhars, which are also eco-friendly. Somehow the idea was trashed, but it tickled my brain cells and gave me an idea to work on. We order around 15,000 kulhars a month,” said Vishal. Incidentally, the ethnic touch to tea fetches Rs 15 per kulhar. Only Re 1 goes to the potter.